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Economist and WHSmith row over in-store promotions

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The Economist row with WHSmith, which has seen the title delisted from the retailers for almost three weeks, centres on in-store promotion, it emerged this week.

According to an industry insider, the dispute revolves around the payments that retailers routinely charge magazine publishers to highlight their stock.

TheEconomist reportedly refused to make this payout, believing it was unnecessary for the magazine.

When asked about the nature of the dispute, a spokeswoman for The Economist said: "We have not been able to agree terms under which WHSmith retail will stock us in its high street stores (some 530 outlets), and therefore in the short term our readers won't be able to buy their copy at WHSmith in the high street.

"We have however worked with other retailers near WHSmith in the high street to make sure that our readers can buy their copy easily.

"We continue to be on sale in all the WHSmiths in all airports and stations throughout the UK."